The origins of experimental psychology can be traced back to 1796, when the then Astronomer Royal dismissed his assistant for making some seemingly inaccurate measurements. But there is more to the story than meets the eye.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Sight and sound persistently out of synch: stable individual differences in audiovisual synchronisation revealed by implicit measures of lip-voice integration
Scientific Reports Open Access 21 April 2017
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Maskelyne, N. Astronomical Oservations Made at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich from M.DCC.LXXXVII to M.DCC.XCVIII (Royal Society, London, 1799).
von Lindenau, B. A. Z. Astr. verwandte Wiss. 2, 199–44 (1816).
Bessel, F. W. Astronomische Beobachtungen auf der Königlichen Universitäts-Sternwarte in Königsberg (Königsberg, 1822).
Wundt, W. Grundzüge der Physiologischen Psychologie (Engelmann, Leipsig, 1880).
Sanford, E. C. Am. J. Psychol. 2, 3 (1888).
Safford, T. H. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 57, 504–514 (1896).
Duncombe, R. L. Pop. Astr. 53, 2–13; 63–76; 110–121 (1945).
Schaffer, S. Science in Context 2, 115–145 (1988).
Boring, E. G. A History of Experimental Psychology (Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1950).
Brooks, G. P. & Brooks, R. C. J. R. astr. Soc. Can 73, 9–23 (1979).
Howse, H. D. Greenwich Observatory: The Royal Observatory at Greenwich and Hertmonceux 1675–1976. Volume 3: Buildings and Instruments (Taylor and Francis, London, 1975).
Burial Register for the Parish of St. Peter's Mancroft, 1736–1812 (Norwich City Library).
The Bury and Norwich Post, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridge Advertisers (12 May 1802).
Titchener, E. B. Lectures on the Elementary Psychology of Feeling and Attention (Macmillan, New York, 1908).
Sternberg, S. et al. Prior Entry Reexamined: Effect of Attentional Bias on Order Perception (unpublished paper to Psychonomic Society, St Louis, 1971; Bell Laboratories Technical Memorandum 71-1221-17).
Reeves, A. & Sperling, G. Psychol. Rev. 93, 180 (1986).
University Library, Cambridge, Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives, RGO 35/97.
RGO 35/102.
RGO 35/105.
RGO 35/106.
RGO 35/113.
RGO 35/117.
RGO 35/120.
RGO 4/6.
Rose, G. A., Holland, W. W. & Crowley, E. E. Lancet 1, 296–300 (1964).
Hessel, P. A. Int. J. Epidemiol. 15, 122–125 (1986).
Fodor, J. A., Bever, T. G. & Garrett, M. F. The Psychology of Language (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1974).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mollon, J., Perkins, A. Errors of judgement at Greenwich in 1796. Nature 380, 101–102 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/380101a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/380101a0
This article is cited by
-
Stimulus duration has little effect on auditory, visual and audiovisual temporal order judgement
Experimental Brain Research (2018)
-
Sight and sound persistently out of synch: stable individual differences in audiovisual synchronisation revealed by implicit measures of lip-voice integration
Scientific Reports (2017)
-
From the Transits of Venus to the Birth of Experimental Psychology
Physics in Perspective (2013)
-
Temporal binding of auditory and rotational stimuli
Experimental Brain Research (2011)
